Bhupinder Singh Mann opts out of Supreme Court panel to deal with farmer protests

Bhupinder Singh Mann, president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, has recused himself from the four-member committee formed by the Supreme Court to help resolve the standoff between the farmers protesting against the farm laws and the Narendra Modi government.

In a statement issued by Mann and shared by the Bhartiya Kisan Union today, Mann said, “As a farmer myself and a Union leader, in view of the prevailing sentiments and apprehensions amongst the farm unions and the public in general, I am ready to sacrifice any position offered or given to me so as to not compromise the interests of Punjab and farmers of the country.”

This comes after the court’s decision received flak from farmer unions who noted that the committee was “pro-government”. Mann as well as the other three members of the committee – policy expert Pramod Joshi, agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, and Shetkari Sanghatana president Anil Ghanwat – are on record supporting the government’s position on the three laws that farmers want repealed.

On Tuesday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde stayed the implementation of three contentious laws, besides setting up the committee, which is supposed to hear the farmers’ grievances and submit a report within two months.